Asuka Katō
starts as a background character and Tomoko's high school classmate in her second and third year. In Tomoko's third year, she forms a friendship with Tomoko. Her full name is revealed in the third year of high school. Overview Katō initially appears a glamorous and popular girl outside of students who know Tomoko. She has a mother from whom she seems to have inherited her looks, and Chapter 140 reveals that she has an older brother who was in college when she was in middle school. Tomoko first materially interacts with her when Katō notices her staring at her as she sits behind her in her make up mirror. She quickly offers to apply make up to Tomoko's eyes. For her part, Tomoko first derisively wonders if Katō expects to be the "Class Mom." Katō does work to include Tomoko in social activities. She also seems to quietly understand others. For example, she quickly disarms Yoshida's defensiveness by immediately complimenting her on her cute animal bag during the trip to the amusement park. On the train on the way home from that school trip, Tomoko awakens to find that she has been sleeping, and drooling, with her head on Katō's lap. She is mortified, but Katō happily assures her that she did not want to disturb her until her stop. Tomoko inwardly concludes that she is more of a "mom" than "a real mom." In more recent chapters, Tomoko fears that she will offend Katō with her real personality. She is surprised when Katō invites her to visit a college with her. Tomoko struggles to suppress her personality; however, Katō misinterprets this as Tomoko not wishing to be her friend. She confesses that she would like to attend the same college as Tomoko to Tomoko's shock. Deeming herself unworthy, Tomoko openly confesses to Katō that she is a "major pervert (ド変態・''dohentai''); however, as she confesses some of her inclinations such as "sexually harassing" her friends, Katō calmly asks repeatedly, "anything else?" Personality Whenever Asuka makes an appearance in the manga she is usually shown to be quite friendly, kind, and popular. She appears to quietly notice the people around her and pay attention to them. Her sincere care for others, even students she does not know like Tomoko, leads Tomoko to consider her the "Class Mom," even "more of a mom than a real mom." When she catches Tomoko staring at her from her seat behind her and Tomoko stammers an explanation, she takes the opportunity to apply make-up to Tomoko's eyes. She includes the shy Tomoko in a social activity even though Tomoko does not really know her. She refuses to engage in the personal conflicts of her peers. When Koharu Minami tries to bait her and Okada into joining in her denigration of Tomoko and Hina, Asuka quietly inspects her nails. However, when Okada takes down Minami, Asuka suggests that she went too far then reminds Okada that she has been talking about Hina continuously even though she does not realize it. She also tries to call Minami on her phone after Minami storms off to invite her back. Asuka appears happy to meet anyone and shows legitimate concern for them. She readily approaches Yoshida and breaks up her fight with Okada. When she joins their group, Asuka takes the time to meet and talk with each of the members including Yuri Tamura. As with all characters it seems in the series, Asuka may have her weaknesses and issues. She becomes quiet when Minami ridicules the make-up she applied on Tomoko in Chapter 135. She quietly notices Tomoko's reactions when she takes Tomoko to a college she wishes to attend in Chapter 140. She understands that Tomoko constantly defers to her but misinterprets her anxiety as Tomoko not wishing to be her friend. As with many characters in the series, Katō may appear a stereotype at first, and Tomoko may have dismissed her as such, but over time the story reveals glimpses at a much deeper character. Unlike Tomoko and many of her friends, Katō appears to have a more mature view of sexuality given her reaction to Tomoko's list of "perversions." She becomes concerned when she learns that Hina slapped Tomoko but then appears neither alarmed nor offended when she learns that Hina was upset that Tomoko had peeked at her Mount Pleasant. Asuka appears quite feminine, as she shows interest for makeup in Chapter 106 and states that she loves nail polish and shopping in Chapter 122. Appearance Asuka stands slightly taller than Akane Okada. Asuka has long hair she wears down with cut front bangs. Like many female characters depicted in the black-and-white manga, her hair has no color which the cover of Volume 14 reveals to be lighter and pinkish and not honey-colored as Okada or Emiri Uchi's dyed hair. Her eyes are blue on the cover. Her mother also has long hair without color in the manga. ''Anime'' *None ''Manga'' *Volume 07: Chapter 58 *Volume 08: Chapter 71 *Volume 09: Chapters 86, 87, 88 *Volume 10: Chapter 90 *Volume 11: Chapters 106, 109 *Volume 12: Chapters 115, 115.5, 117, 120, 122, Omake *Volume 13: Chapters 124, 125, 128, 129, 130, 130.5, 131, 132 *Volume 14: Chapters 134, 135, 138, 140, 141, Omake *Volume 15: Chapters 143, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153 (Strikethrough episodes or chapters indicate the character was mentioned but did not make a physical appearance) Relationships Hina Nemoto Asuka knows Hina. She knows Hina is friends with Okada and that they have had a falling out. When she comes over to talk to Hina and Tomoko, Hina asks her to address her by her new nickname "Nemo." She remonstrates Hina when she scoffs over Tomoko's interest in Aoyama University. She also confronts Hina over her slapping Tomoko. Akane Okada Asuka is one of Okada's friends. She quietly notices Okada's anger with Hina in Chapter 125. When Okada storms off, Asuka cheerfully accompanies her so she will not be alone. When sitting with her, Asuka kindly suggests that Okada make up with Hina. Tomoko Kuroki Asuka is typically shown being polite and even friendly to Tomoko. She first really meets Tomoko in Chapter 106 when Tomoko is assigned to sit directly behind her. As Tomoko enjoys her scent, Asuka notices Tomoko staring at her in her mirror. When she turns to ask if she can help Tomoko, and Tomoko stammers an explanation, Asuka does not pursue the matter or embarrass her. Instead, she compliments Tomoko's eyes and applies make-up to them. Later in Chapter 120 she offers the shy girl some food and refills at a party. She does confess in Chapter 128 that she finds the combination of Hina, Yoshida and Tomoko "strange," but she does nothing rude to any of them. On the contrary, after complimenting Yoshida's bag, she then touches Tomoko's mouse ears and calls them "cute." She later asks Tomoko and Hina how they became "such good friends." On the train ride home from the amusement park, when Tomoko falls asleep, Katō lets her sleep with her head in her lap. Later, she asks Tomoko to have have lunch with her. When she overhears Tomoko discussing her appearance in Chapter 135, she finds out Tomoko's cellphone number, calls her later that night, and she asks Tomoko to come to school early the next day so she can apply make-up on her. In Chapter 137, she politely defends Tomoko when Hina questions her choice of a university. She spends a day with Tomoko visiting a university she is interested in in Chapter 140. Tomoko gradually relaxes around Katō and enjoys the visit to the point that she seriously considers it as a choice. However, Katō noticed some of Tomoko's odd avoidance of her, such as suddenly looking away from her to seemingly look at Emiri Uchi, then accept a water bottle when she was choking from Uchi rather than her. Katō interprets this as Tomoko not wanting to be her friend. To both her shock and regret, Tomoko inwardly protests that she fears she would ruin their relationship. Taking the bottle from Katō would be, to Tomoko, like indirectly kissing her. She looked at Uchi to clear her mind from looking at Katō. Tomoko opens up to Katō by confessing that she is a "huge pervert" who has fantasies about her friends whom she sexually harasses. She then confesses other embarrassing things such as that she did, indeed, search for "dick pics" in class rather than received them as a prank from a friend, and she reconciled Hina Nemoto and Akane Okada by showing Okada an eroge game. Katō's reply to all of this is, "is that all?" She reminds Tomoko that whatever her method, she did reconcile the two feuding friends when she could not. She frankly asks how any of that would prevent Tomoko from believing she could be her friend. Later during the train ride home, Katō asks Tomoko how, exactly, she "sexually harasses" her friends. When a sweating and smiling Tomoko reveals how she tells dirty stories and leers at them, Katō calmly asks, "is that all?" While Katō may appear a "perfect" character, and a "perfect mom" in Tomoko's view, she reveals some subtle vulnerabilities with Tomoko. As noted, she appears legitimately hurt when she misinterprets Tomoko's behavior during their tour of the university. When Tomoko blurts out surprise at Katō's diligence as a student, Katō matter of factly asks why she should be surprised, then smiles when Tomoko admits she no longer is. She then offers that she has changed her opinion of Tomoko as a "quiet, diligent girl." Masaki Yoshida Despite noting that her combination with Hina and Tomoko appears strange, she immediately and cheerfully approaches Yoshida and asks to join her group. She then walks with Yoshida and admires her bear mascot bag which makes Yoshida smile. This pretty much summarizes Katō ability to make anyone feel comfortable. Koharu Minami Initially, Minami and Katō seem to be on good terms; however, Katō appears on good terms with everyone. As noted, in Chapter 128, after Akane Okada exposes her, Katō suggests that perhaps Okada was too harsh. She then tries to message Minami to return and smooth out the conflict. When Katō comes to school early to apply make-up on Tomoko like some of the girls seen in her fashion magazines, Minami ridicules it to Mako in her hearing without realizing that Katō applied it. Katō simply listens in silence. Kaho (Female Classmate with Freckles) Katō returns a textbook she borrowed from her in Chapter 131 and then has lunch with her in class in Chapter 134. She later suggests to Tomoko, Yuri, and Mako that they study with her. Trivia *Katō (加藤) means "Fujiwara in Kaga". The individual kanji ''mean "add/increase" and "wisteria." Asuka means "tomorrow's fragrance . *Her name is pronounced "Aska." *She shares her name with Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Shohei Katō. Gallery Asuka_katou_chapter_90.png|Asuka at a parent-teacher conference. Katō Class Mom c120.png|Katō receives her Tomoko Nickname. Katō Ignores Minami-c128.png|Asuka ignores Minami's attempt to draw her into denigrating Hina and Tomoko. Cute Katō c130.png|Katō accepts a small souvenir from Tomoko. C131 Katō Lap.png|Awwww! C131 Tomoko and Katō.png|Tomoko imagines Katō as the perfect mom. Minami does not know c135.png|Katō listens in silence as Minami ridicules Tomoko and her make-up which Katō applied. Tomoko Katō Breeze c140.png|Katō and Tomoko in the Spring Breeze Young Katō c140.png|'Katō in Middle School:' Awwwwww! Katō V14 Cover.png|'Katō in Living Color''' Katō Wreath c150.png|Tomoko gives Katō a wreath of flowers. Navigation Category:Class 2-4 Category:Class 3-5 Category:Article stubs Category:Female Category:Minor characters